Ayn Rand on Phil Donahue – You MUST Watch This

This is Ayn Rand at 75 years old in her first public appearance after the death of her husband. I suggest that everyone spend the time to watch each of the 5 videos below – it is worth it. I have cataloged notes from each of the videos for your reference. The quotes i’ve listed are close to accurate, but may not be totally accurate.

Segment 1:

– Ayn gets to it right out of the gate, unapologetic for honest achievement.

– Donahue: “You are something.” Rand: “I think So”

– Ayn says Donahue is faking it when he acts humble

– Most men are repressors who hide their feelings out of weakness

– Jimmy Carter’s smile is not genuine. “I don’t think he has any ideas and if so he has no feelings.”

– People can want to help other people but that is not altruism. Altruism is sacrificing yourself for other people. What’s wrong with it Donahue asks? Rand responds – what’s wrong with committing suicide?

– What I mean by sacrifice is to give up some value that is important to you for a lesser value. To die for your neighbor is sacrifice. By extension – evil.

– Recent proposals to spend millions on the handicapped (buses, etc) is to bring everyone to the level of the handicapped.

– It is unfair to build special schools for mentally retarded people when we don’t build special schools for the gifted, upon whom all of our lives depend. They carry the weight of everyone else and deserve first priority. Tax payers should not pay for either though – and each should rely on their parents or private charity.

– The gifted will make their own way if we don’t stop them

– Less government. We need only the basics: Police, law courts, armed forces.

– If there is a “mal” distribution of wealth, it is to those who have political pull. “If you made it yourself in free competition then you should keep all of it. Why shouldn’t you? You made it.”

– On the subject of oil, rising oil prices, and the then oil crisis: ” We should not have permitted altruistically all of those nations to nationalize what we built for them.”

– On Arab countries and their oil: “They took our oil. We own by contract right the installations which we devised to begin with and we helped them to build.” “They have no right to their soil if they do nothing with it. They want to bring us in to develop their oil and then to exploit and murder us.” It was our fault though for not putting a better contract in place and enforcing it. Blames government.

– It is not their oil. “It was there for centuries and they didn’t know what to do with it.” “We don’t export our technology, we export our minds and our knowledge without which they couldn’t exist.”

– “They can’t even run the oil industry after they copied everything from us.”

– Donahue: “You’re an atheist.” Rand: “Yes.” Donahue: “Tisk tisk tisk.” Rand: “I could do the same to you, you know. Since your the host I won’t say it but in other circumstances I would say that I don’t approve of religion.” It is not based on reason and facts.

– Donahue: “You’ve got to admit, you’re not smart enough to know whether there is a G-d.” Rand: “Yes, I am.” “It doesn’t take much intelligence.”

– “Religion is a psychological weakness of a man who is afraid to stand on his own mind and his own responsibility. The absence of proof has gone on for centuries.” “I regard it as evil to place your emotions, your desire, above the evidence of what your mind knows.”

– Donahue: “Aren’t you filled with wonder when you look up at the stars.” Rand: “No. And I don’t like to look at them. I like this earth. You know when i’m filled with wonder – when I look up at sky scrapers. At what man was able to achieve of their own… without the help of faith or desire.”

– Rand admires people who have helped to bring us so far from primitive jungles.

– “For the good of the whole and sacrifice to the state… and whoever says it is or wants to be the State.”

– “I don’t believe that society has any responsibiliy towards anyone.” “Society has nothing to do with the life of anybody except to get out of his way.”

– “I don’t like the word responsibility.”

– “Do what I rationally think is right according to the right morality. And help others if you can but not as a primary obligation.”

– “We can’t have unearned obligations.”

– Questioner asked Rand what she thought of the architecture in Chicago. Rand said she has not been there in a while but liked the frank lloyd wright buildings. And likes the early Sullivan buildings which she hopes are preserved.

– Rand confronts a (“recently matured”) questioner who says she is trying to build an elitist society. Rand asks her why she came “here” to my show. “You want responsibility – go and practice it, but your not going to force any responsibility on me.” RAND BASICALLY THREATENED THIS IDIOT WOMAN TO STEP OUTSIDE AND DROP FISTS.

– “I would love to see an honorable adversary, but i’ve stopped hoping for it.”

Keith, you don’t even know the meaning or concept of fascism. She is pro-capitalist (ie a free market). Nazi Germany was a fascist country!!! Fascism falls into the realm of socialism, communism, statism. Capitalism is the best way to run the government and country. That was how our country was built (in the 19th century). Now it is a mixed economy with socialist tendencies (unfortunately much more).

What do we owe to society? So you are saying that we are all born to serve society? And that we have an obligation to society? Who says? Who is society? C’mon Chris, think??? Mother Theresa even had her doubts!!! Also, why is it that everyone that is a “non-you” is more deserving of your time, energy? Can you answer that Chris? We all have our self interest at hand, otherwise you would starve and be living in a cave. When Ayn Rand says self interest, she means people, things, activities that are a value to you. Taking care of my mother whom I love is a selfish act. Taking care of my neighbor (whom I don’t know), is not unless a freind. Again helping is not the issue here. It is about whether or not we should be obligated to help people who are non-values to us. I am not obligated to my neighbor, but if I choose to help and it does not involve sacrifice, it is perfectly alright.

Rand and Randists do not completely understand what they are talking about. I would recommend they read John Rawls’ theory on social justice but I’m afraid they might just misinterpret it. Rand once did and boy did she get him wrong.

– People can want to help other people but that is not altruism. Altruism is sacrificing yourself for other people. What’s wrong with it Donahue asks? Rand responds – what’s wrong with committing suicide?

– What I mean by sacrifice is to give up some value that is important to you for a lesser value. To die for your neighbor is sacrifice. By extension – evil.”

This is really an absurd notion. Many Christians have sacrificed themselves for others in following the example of Jesus, i.e. Mother Teresa. Jesus was the most rational being ever and His teachings, when followed sincerely, changed world societies for the good throughout history, as opposed to evil societies spawned by atheists. The former appears much more “rational” to my observation.